The Use of Glass in Buildings - Case Study Example

GLАSS FITTINGS, АLUMINIUM СLАDDING DЕTАILS, РОDS IN А BUIDING СОNSTRUСTIОN РRОJЕСT Name Institution Date Introduction Modern construction uses different kind of material to achieve different properties. However, in this case, we address the use of PODS, glass fittings and aluminum cladding in modern construction projects as building materials. Glass Fitting GLASS is basically defined as a non-crystalline amorphous solid that in most cases transparent or modifiable to diverse qualities. Basically glass has diverse functions and in construction industry, it is majorly used for decoration and window panes. Glasses have been for a long time derived from silicate compounds like quartz and silicon dioxide and are basically known to transmit, reflect and refract light (Nsg.com, 2016). Glass is specifically embraced in modern architecture due to its ability to address the environmental challenges that man has experienced in the past. Through maximizing the access of natural light in the building, architectures feel that they have brought in the external natural life. The global quest for sustainability has also worked in well for glass inclusion in modern building to go in tandem with the energy saving legislation. The use of glass is so flexible that in hot climate, low-emissivity is used to allow sunlight in the room and while blocking the heat. In cold climate, low emissivity of glass is used to reduce heat loss while allow quick absorption of sun radiation. Basically glass use in building enjoy advantages such as: Increase the beauty of the building/structure Easy to decorate Enhance light access hence increased tranquility of the room Less expensive Environmentally friendly Versatility in design at considerable cost Glass use in fittings and building structure contribute to sustainability of buildings as the glass use enhance energy efficiency and at the same time reduce carbon dioxide emissions. However, the glass further improve fire protection, contribute to noise attenuation, enhance safety and security, privacy and introduces self-cleaning properties (Nsg.com, 2016). It is globally known that buildings over 50% of the energy used by the government especially in European countries. Glass structure contribute to making such building less consuming Glass are known to have thermal insulation properties and that has been used in countries where the weather shift from cold to warm like in Europe. Through minimizing heat loss and internal condensation, glass is known to help conserve energy in structures and enhance comfort. Glass is can be used to control light especially in air conditioned buildings through reduction of energy and carbon dioxide emission. Solar control glass is used and a coating is used to reflect more than 75% of the solar heat while the visible light is allowed into the building. Glass property can be modified before fittings to make them fire resistant and that can help protect the assets and lives (Nsg.com, 2016). Finally glass fittings can also be made to be self-cleaning through use of modern dual-action self-cleaning glass which require less manual and that reduce exposure of such surfaces to toxic chemicals and hazardous cleaning products and at the same time reduce unnecessary water wastage. Therefore glass contribute to cost reduction, health improvement and lower the safety risk. The figure below is an example of glass fitting in a building structure showing how glass is fitted on a building. Fig 1: Building fitted with glass (Nsg.com, 2016) PODS Modern construction in its quest to improve efficiency introduced a system where components used as part of the building are manufactured in the factory environment and brought on site in pre-finished forms. Pods are normally delivered as flat packs and pod modules. Flat packs are normally assembled in the actual site and are brought as prefabricated walls ready to be assembled (Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods, 2014). However, in pod modules which are brought in closed units with the electrical and mechanical fittings installed before on side delivery. A good example of where PODS is used in construction is kitchen finishing or toilets construction. This is because of the technicality involved due to resources require, time, skills and risks. Use of pods eliminate the additional work as a result of the special finishing required on site, task of bring electrical and mechanical machines on site and other task like plumbing and joint sealing. The site finishing is rather costly, time consuming and result to too much waste. Pods are best used in design that are repetitive and a single technique can be replicated to reduce time wastage. Pods are normally structurally independent and designed to allow transportation to the final position. The design are made in such a way that the in services facilities such as electricity, water and gas can be readily connected (Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods, 2014). Codes are commonly used on walls, floors, ceiling structures, thermal and acoustic isolation, furniture and lightings. However, when considering utilization of Pod technique in building, factors such as weight of the sanitary ware and finishes, dimension of units, transport condition and building regulation has to be considered. Pods uses methods such as pre-cast concrete, pre-cast glass fibre reinforced concrete, pre-cast glass fibre reinforced plastic, hot rolled steel frame structures, light steel frame structures and timber frame structure. Utilization of PODS reduce the overall construction time by up to 80% compared to the normal traditional construction method. At the same time Pods use increase chances of better quality as the components are made in a better environment where minor details can be followed during construction. Hence construction using pods enhance chance of uniqueness. Other advantages of using pods are: Mostly light in weight and hence cost saving Improved acoustic performance The floor made in one piece hence enjoy watertight condition Design guidelines are fully implemented and controlled Serious reduction of waste from design to utilization. Reduced on site waste by more than 50% Pods are more successful when the dimension are well coordinated and communicated, the service shaft is well positioned and easy to connect, the design is repetitive, the method has a standard system and bill of material is used to determine the type of car it required. Pods are normally produced in a molding facility or in an assembly facilities. An example of Pods is shown in the figure below Fig 2: Pods being transported (Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods, 2014) Aluminum Cladding Aluminum has been important in human life and construction industry is no exception. Cladding is one area in construction where Aluminum has been adversely used especially in the modern structures. Cladding are two faced and normally bonded to a central neoprene core. Aluminum is specifically known for its durability, hygienic due to resistance to rusting, low maintenance cost and recyclable. To create the aesthetic appeal, Aluminum is normally combined with other building materials like timber and concrete to create the desired architectural design in term of creative outlook of design. Aluminum can be classified as screen panels and Waterproof panels. Screen systems are common in cases where the building structure is ventilated walls whilst waterproof systems are used for curtainwalls. Aluminum is used so much in construction due to strength verses weight ratio and is normally 66% percent less than the weight of steel. Moreover, Aluminum are thinner and deeper and normally are not affected by moisture and Aluminum windows. At the same time have a low maintenance cost especially due to the oxide coating hence able to withstand attack from aggressive environmental condition. Aluminum is known to fast track the fabrication process since it allow just-in- time approach at improved accuracy for efficient erection. Aluminum cladding are considered achievable at a very high performance due to the fabrication quality at a very considerable cost. Most building that use cladding have repetitive design that allow the components to be produced and replicated and can be machine manufactured (Rathi and Patil, 2013) due to the ductility of aluminum, it can be shaped into desired shapes and sizes depending on the design. Ability to recycle aluminum make the cladding material made from aluminum to be environmental friendly hence ideal for modern structures where sustainability is a serious concern. Aluminum is used for cladding panels due to the following qualities: Aluminum is durable hence good for cladding since it can be designed to be water-proof, corrosion resistant and immune to UV rays. Aluminum has excellent design flexibility hence designers can make claddings of numerous profile. They can be manufactured flat, curved or shaped into cassettes. Allow different surface finish and can be painted into different colors to meet the designer decorative design. Improved fire safety since Aluminum is considered non- combustible construction material and the alloy only melt at temperature above 650C. The cladding can be modified to achieve high optical security. Fig 3: Detailed joint showing Aluminum Cladding Modern architecture take various shape to align with the latest designs and Aluminum meet such properties due to the finishing qualities. Use of Aluminum cladding in modern architecture take center stage due to properties such as its light weight, ability to resist corrosion, high strength at very low temperature, easy to work on and ability to accommodate good surface finish (Rathi and Patil, 2013). However, Aluminum has shortfalls in its ability to resist water penetration, insufficient thermal insulation and inability to resist noise penetration. References 1. Nsg.com. (2016). Glass in buildings. [online] Available at: http://www.nsg.com/en/sustainability/glassandclimatechange/glassinbuildings [Accessed 15 May 2016]. 2. Rathi, M. and Patil, A. (2013). Use of Aluminium In Building Construction. [online] Engineeringcivil.com. Available at: http://www.engineeringcivil.com/use-of-aluminium-in-building-construction.html [Accessed 15 May 2016]. 3. Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods. (2014). Wrap, [online] 4(3), pp.3-23. Available at: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/PODS%20-%20Full%20case%20study.pdf [Accessed 15 May 2016]. Read More

Pods are normally delivered as flat packs and pod modules. Flat packs are normally assembled in the actual site and are brought as prefabricated walls ready to be assembled (Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods, 2014). However, in pod modules which are brought in closed units with the electrical and mechanical fittings installed before on side delivery.

A good example of where PODS is used in construction is kitchen finishing or toilet construction. This is because of the technicality involved due to resources required, time, skills, and risks. The use of pods eliminates the additional work as a result of the special finishing required on-site, the task of bringing electrical and mechanical machines on-site, and other tasks like plumbing and joint sealing. The site finishing is rather costly, time-consuming, and results in too much waste. Pods are best used in repetitive designs and a single technique can be replicated to reduce time wastage.

Pods are normally structurally independent and designed to allow transportation to the final position. The design is made in such a way that the in services facilities such as electricity, water, and gas can be readily connected (Waste reduction potential of offsite manufactured pods, 2014). Codes are commonly used on walls, floors, ceiling structures, thermal and acoustic isolation, furniture, and lightings. However, when considering the utilization of the Pod technique in building, factors such as weight of the sanitary ware and finishes, dimension of units, transport condition, and building regulation have to be considered. Pods use methods such as pre-cast concrete, pre-cast glass fiber reinforced concrete, pre-cast glass fiber reinforced plastic, hot rolled steel frame structures, light steel frame structures, and timber frame structure.

The utilization of PODS reduces the overall construction time by up to 80% compared to the normal traditional construction method. At the same time, Pods use increases chances of better quality as the components are made in a better environment where minor details can be followed during construction. Hence construction using pods enhance the chance of uniqueness.

Pods are more successful when the dimension is well-coordinated and communicated, the service shaft is well positioned and easy to connect, the design is repetitive, the method has a standard system and a bill of material is used to determine the type of car it required. Pods are normally produced in a molding facility or an assembly facility. 

Aluminum has been important in human life and the construction industry is no exception. Cladding is one area in construction where Aluminum has been adversely used especially in modern structures. Cladding is two-faced and normally bonded to a central neoprene core. Aluminum is specifically known for its durability, hygienic due to resistance to rusting, low maintenance cost, and recyclable. To create the aesthetic appeal, Aluminum is normally combined with other building materials like timber and concrete to create the desired architectural design in terms of the creative outlook of the design.

Aluminum can be classified as screen panels and Waterproof panels. Screen systems are common in cases where the building structure is ventilated walls whilst waterproof systems are used for curtainwalls. Aluminum is used so much in construction due to strength versus weight ratio and is normally 66% percent less than the weight of steel. Moreover, Aluminum is thinner and deeper and normally is not affected by moisture and Aluminum windows. At the same time have a low maintenance cost especially due to the oxide coating hence able to withstand attack from aggressive environmental condition. Aluminum is known to fast-track the fabrication process since it allows a just-in-time approach at improved accuracy for efficient erection.

Aluminum cladding is considered achievable at a very high performance due to the fabrication quality at a very considerable cost. The most building that uses cladding have a repetitive design that allows the components to be produced and replicated and can be machine manufactured (Rathi and Patil, 2013) due to the ductility of aluminum, it can be shaped into desired shapes and sizes depending on the design.

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